Process of altering elongated steel shapes.



J. E. YORK.

PROCESS OF ALTERING ELONGATED STEEL SHAPES.

APPLICATION FILED OGT. 21, 1903.

Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

INVENTOR:

WITNESSES:

By A zzameys,

| awn: Tan 0 c M WFW? triafimw J. ELYORK.

rnoonss OF ALTERING ELONGATED STEEL SHAPES.

APPLIOATION- FILED 0OT.21, 1908.

1,078,118. 7 Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

v v TNVENTOR: WITNESSES: I 6 law I z By Altameys;

m "I. A L

J. E. YORK.

PROCESS OF ALTERING ELONGATED STEEL SHAPES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 21, 1903.

PatntedNov. 11, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FIG. /3.

"-1 1 111 11 1.1 111 11w MM [111mm] I we 1 1 11 lwnllllnh yl 1 H I I H111.

INVENTOR:

By Attorneys,

J. E. YORK.

PROCESS OF ALTERING ELONGATED STEEL SHAPES.

APPLICATION FILED 001'. 21, 1903.

1,078,1 1 8 Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

B INVENTOR:

WITNESSES:

' By Aftomeys,

COLUMBIA P'LANODRAPH 130-. WASHINGTON. D- C.

mnrn n STATES PATENT oFFro.

JAMES E. YORK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOB TO YORK ROLLING PROCESS COMPANY,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK. I V

rnocnss or ALTERING ELONGATEDSTEEL SHAPES.

, specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed october 21, 1903. s rial No. 177,989..

To all whom it may concern .s I Be it known that I, JAMES E. YORK, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Altering Elongated SteelShapes,of which the following is a specification.

In rolling elongated steel shapes'such as engage the bar. No material amount of lateral spreading can be obtained. Therefore the original bar from which the final shape is to be obtained must be of such cross-section as to inclose the cross-section of the final shape. It is apparent therefore that in order to make wide flanges there'is a great quantity of metal which must be rolled down from the original bar and the process becomes very expensive. 'Furthermore' as the width of the flanges to be rolled increases it becomes more difficult to secure a j good grlp of the rolls on the bar without an excessive taper of the flanges. These processes are therefore of comparatively limited. usefulness. According to this invention it is proposed to roll such elongated bars (in which generic term I include the various shapes mentioned and all others of a similar character) transversely of their length. This improvement at once opens up a Wide field of usefulness for rolling processes. When combined with the old longitudinal rolling process the flow of metal is under almost unlimited control. A most impor tant field is in the rerolling of old or Worn rails, beams, rods or the like which at present are useful only as scrap. This old material may be reshaped by the present process and brought to symmetrical cross-section, and may be utilized regardless ofany holes or rivets therein, without even removing such rivets. The process may be carried out upon only a part of the section if desired, as

for example upon only the head of an old rail, the original symmetrical shape of the webgand the base being unchanged. Preferably the metal or at least the part of it which is to bereshaped is reheated to a reheating improves greatly the quality of the steel f njured by the high heat of the original rolling.- l

in transverse'ly rollingthe bars or shapes on a flat bed The ordinary system of passing thefbars between two revolving rolls in T'which generally one part of the bar is elongated more than another part, produces a curving of'the finished shape which necessitates an additional operation for straightening it. In rolling on a flat bed, and preferably holding the bar flat on such bed, there is comparatively no lateral bending due to the rolling.

Another feature of improvement is in the rolling". of the bars obliquely. The word directions crossing the lengthwise direction of the bar'and varying substantially thereferred to. This oblique rolling has the advantage ascompared with a rolling directly at right angles to the length, that the bar is brought under the operation of the roll gradually and not at the same instant throughout its entire length. The improved machine which I have designed for carrying out the described process comprises a roll and a substantially flat bed, the bed preferably reciprocating in a direction at right angles to the roll and being provided with means for holding the bars'in a position oblique to the roll. This apparatus has various advantages referred to in detail hereinafter.

A valuable product of the invention is a railroad tie (or beam from which such a tie may be made) which is specially adapted to be made by the process described above. Such a tie. includes a head, web and base, the base being a double flange wider than the depth of the tie and the head being a flange similar to the base of an ordinary T rail, or being a thinner broader flange, or being'of any other suitable shape. 7

The accompanying-drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention.

Figures 1 to 6 illustrate in cross-section gradual alterations of the form of a Worn guard rail such as is in common use in street transversely is used here to include all' from, thus including the oblique rolling re- Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

.moderate' temperature, and this 'moderate Another feature of improvement consists V that each step of the process as referred to Y railways to convert it first into a substanderside plan of a tie'of the cross-section shown in tulll nes in Fig. 4. 'F 1g. 8 1llustratesln cross-section a possibleextenslon of the. process. Figs. 9 .and 10. illustrate in cross-section the conversion of double head and bull head railsintolT rails. "Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate the, method of converting 1 respectively a part of a guardrail into a i i f T with wide flanges and an old Trail into abeam of the shape shown in Fig. and

specially suitable for railroad ties. 'Fig.

1 is a plan of an apparatus forcarrying out a-' process embod ing-the invention.

, Figs. 14 and 15' are respectively. alongitudinal section and an end elevation of the same.

I will first describe a. succession of' steps necessary forreducing'al-girder-railsinto a T railroad tie with special =reference to Figs.

1' to 7 i The dotted outline inv Fig. 1 shows a section of a worn girder rail. The flange and the first step" is to spread the flange A and bring it level with the flange BL The new position and shape of the flange Aqis shown in full lines at A. It is" understood herein may consist of one. or more passes through the apparatus, the number depending upon the amount of change to be effected. These figures show in dottedlines the contour of the section at the beginning, and in'full lines the contour at the end of the step or'subprocess illustrated. In the V I second 'step'both the flanges A B are spread laterally and reduced thickness to bring them to the contours A 'and B (Fig. 2.)

In the third step the flangesA and B are respectiyelybrought'to the contours A and B (Fig; spreading the metalfchiefly in the direction of the arrow shown so as tov carry the metal to the side having originally the smallerquantity of metal and thus makingthe flanges A and B substantially the same. This controlling of the direction of flow of themetalto one side or the other the elongation illustrated in Fig. 2, or prior or subsequent thereto. In the third step the process may be considered complete, the

groove of the rail being entirely eliminated. Fig.4 shows however a furtherentension of theflangestothe wider thinner shape shown at A and B This lateral spreading might :b'e continued indefinitely and the amount of itwill depend entirely upon the final shape desired.- It will 'ordinarily be found that when the head of a'rail has been rolled down to a'flat flange symmetrical on both sides of the web that it will be thinner than the base G.

If it desired to obtain an I-beam havingequal top and bottom flanges I purpose to roll flanges A? and somewhat longer than the corresponding flanges C and D constituting the base of the rail. The flanges A and B may then be reduced to the width of-the base flanges and the latter reduced to the thickness of the head flanges by any usual or suitable mechanism. In the altered geous to use such a shape as is shown in Fig. 6, the web E forming the bearing upon tribute which .the rail rests while the flanges conthe necessary vertical stiffness.

1 This design may be secured very simply and advantageously from the shape of Fig. 5 by any usual or su1table mechanism for bending or by rolling down two of the flanges as "for example B and C either throughout ithe length of the tie or only at the two points where the rails pass.

In this step i-the flanges 13 and C are bent down to the position B O and are rolled flat on the top vA 'is' somewhat higher than the flange B, ,1 so as to form with the web a broad flat plate having two flanges A and 15 depending at :about equal intervals in the width of the f dation.

section.

I propose also to roughen the base of the tie of Fig. 4 if desired so as to make it hold well against movement on its foun- This roughened face is indicated at F Fig. 7, and may be obtained very readily f bytormmg irregular depressions in the face. ,of the roll whlch forms the corresponding -l surface of the flanges A 13* 01'? Fig. 4.

5 center of the tie.

This enables it to yield at fthe center and thus avoid the effect of the center binding which is well known to result 3 from the gradual working out of the ballast below the ends of the ties.

The process may be applied with great advantage to the reuse of the old doubleiheaded (Fig. 9) rails used to a great extent in England and now passing out of use. 'The worn head H of such a rail may, by

spreading the metal to one side or the other,

mo-re toward the side upon which the rail is more worn, be converted into a pair of flanges I-I, thus converting it into a T rail of the American type. This T rail, if the head J. is also worn or for any other reason it is to be discarded, may be converted into a other shapes by the process of Figs. 1 to 7.

The process may also be applied with ad'- vantage to the so-called bullhead rails (Fig.

'10) used in England, comprising a rail head H and a baseK of similar shape but smaller. The base K may be spread to form the thinner wider base K of the American type and the head H may be re-' rolled to form a lighter rail head or may be spread in the manner illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7. y

Fig. 12 shows the worn head L of a- T rail of the Americal type orformed from either of the English types referred to and shows the width and thickness of the flanges L which may be obtained by spreading the same amount of metal laterally.

Fig. 11 illustrates a process of convertin the upper part of a guard or T rail into [a T. The worn head A B of a guard rail may be spread into flanges A and B of the width shown, the web E being cut off at any suitable point to give the desired length. The base and lower portion of the'web of the rail of course constitute a T without further rolling. I i 1 Various other applications of the process might be cited almost without number, and undoubtedly will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. The applications illustrated are believed to be suificient to disclose the principles of the process and its wide range of applicability. It is not limited to any initial shape or to any particular final shape except as stated in the. claims hereinafter.

The principal parts of the illustrated apparatus are the roll M and the bed N. The bed is given a reciprocating motion by any suitable mechanism, such as the type well known in planers. The roll is likewise rotated in either direction by any suitable power connected to the shaft 0, the under side of the roll traveling in the same direction as the bed. The height of the roll is adjustable, its two bearings being regulated simultaneously by means of vertical screwthreaded shafts P, driven from a power shaft Q. Any suitable supporting guides for the bed may be used, such as the guides R shown. More than one roll may be employed in connection with the single bed if desired and the roll may be mounted and braced in any suitable way. Means are provided for holding the bars on the bed.

The machine shown is adapted for the re rolling of rails, and for this purpose the bed is provided with grooves S of a shape to receive the bases and webs of rails. Grooves of other shapes may be provided to fit the contour of the bars to be rerolled. For the specific purposes stated however the grooves (and the bars carried therein) are arranged obliquely and nearly at right angles to the direction of movement of the bed so that the roll engages the bar gradually and not simultaneously throughout its whole length. With the inclination shown the roll engages the rearmost end of a bar at aboutthe-same instant that it is freed from the foremost end. It is understood that between each two successive passages of a bar through the machine the roll is lowered slightly so as to rollthe metal progressively thinner in successive operations. lfthemetal at the beginning be symmetrically arranged and a symmetrical product be desired, the bed will be reciprocated and the metal spread at each operation, thus acting equally in each jected to the spreading action at each move- 1 ment of the bed. The position of Fig. 13

supposes that the first three bars have been completed and the fourthbar. is being spread before any of the remaining bars are altered. The surface of the product may be figured or roughened by providing a suitably figured sor' roughened roller or by suitably shaping the portion of the bed against which the metal is rolled. For example in F ig. 12 the bed Nis shown of such a shape as to produce a tapered flange L, while in Fig. 11 it produces a. flange of uniform thickness. The roll may be provided for example with transverse grooves which form .ribs on the product, or it may be entirely broken away at desired points so as not to alter the shape of the product at corresponding points. The machine is also such as to permit of the ready substitution for the roll or for a part thereof of a suitable device for cutting the cleft G of Fig. 7 or of a planer for planing cold metal or for planing the face of the bed itself when the latter becomes roughened by use. Examples of shapes for which the machine may be adapted are T rails, guard rails, girder rails, double-head and bullhead rails, beams, channels, Ts, angles, and bars of regular crosssection, all sizes and hot or cold.

This apparatus provides for the lateral flow of the metal very simply and expeditiously. The fact that it engages only the head of the bar makes it a matter of indifference whether rivets or other fastenings remain in the old metal being utilized, and in fact even if such fastenings remain on the head of the bar they may be rolled as if part of the bar, and for such products as railroad ties they would be unobjectionable.

Instead of spreading the metal gradually by lowering the single roll shown, a succession of rolls mays be provided each a little lower than the next previous so that the metal is spread step by step as it passes through successive rolls.

WVhile the apparatus is limited as to the length of bar which it can economically roll laterally, yet by first accomplishing the lateral rolling on a short bar and then elongatingthe bar'by usual or suitable mocha,

- nism to the eral rolling.

Itis not necessarytotheiprocess. that all sired: extent it ispossi'ble. to obtain very longbars of practically ole.- sired width of flange. railroad ties can be-finished by the merelat-v bodying this invention, yet it is not to-be understood that the invention is. limited to the particular embodiments disclosed; Va-.

'- lrious'modifications maybe. madev by those j the inventionas claimed.

skilled in the; art without departure from What 'Iolaiin is v 1.. The process of altering an elongated steel shape having portions extending. angu-- larly to each other, which consists in holdingone. of said'portions partially sunk withv in a groove in a support, and rolling the.

Short bars such. as

' other projecting portiontransversely to the I plane of the sunk portion and to the length of the shape to spread it laterally over the support beyond said groove.

2. The process of altering an elongated 7 steel shape having portions extending angularly to each other, which consists in holding one of said portions fixed relatively to its support, and rollin the. other transversely to the plane of the rst and to the length of the shape.

3. The process of altering an elongated steel shape having a head and a web, which consists in rolling such head in a direction transverse to the plane of the web.

4:. The process of altering an elongated steel shape having a head and web, which consists in holding it on a support having a groove receiving said web, and rolling down the head transversely upon such support.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. JAMES E. YORK.

Witnesses DoMi'Nco A. USINA, FRED VVHITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

